This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Genres: Paranormal, Apocalypse, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: June 19th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
My Review:

First of all, thank you so much to HarperCollins and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book! However, this did not affect my thoughts on this book, or my review.

In this book, we meet five kids who have made it to their school as a refuge from the outside world, where a zombies are attacking and eating all the people. Our main character, Sloane, doesn't really want to be alive right now, she was actually planning to commit suicide. They story is about the 5 kids trying to survive.

So, let's start with the good. This is my first zombie book, and I must say, the zombies were pretty well-thought out. Everything made sense zombie-wise, basically, you got bitten, died, and came back as a zombie and ate other people . It was really simple, and frankly, creepy. Like, really creepy, they were that realistic. It gave me the shivers.

The whole book was also pretty compelling to read. I kept wanting to know what happened to the characters. There were a few suspenseful moments throughout the book, so that kept the book flowing pretty well.

Now, what I didn't like as much. Let's start with Sloane, the main character. I'm just going to say it how it is: I didn't like Sloane, at all. Many times, I wanted to punch her, so much that I almost threw my Kindle on the tiled flooring [that wouldn't have been good, now would it have?]. I'm glad I resisted the urge though, because then I would have to buy a new Kindle... So anyways, Sloane a very frustrating character. She did some stupid things in my opinion, and I couldn't understand her at all. And she made the stupidest decisions ever.I never connected with her, never felt bad for her. She just seemed like a stupid brat to me. Sloane practically ruined the whole book for me.

Also, so many people die at random times, I just got frustrated even more. People just kinda disappear, people just die randomly, it was just yuck. Especially at the end. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go any further.

The ending was also something that turned me off from this book. I didn't understand it at all, and it was so cliff-hangery is that a word?]. Since this book is a stand-alone, I wanted an ending that would leave me satisfied, and this ending did not. At all. It could have used an epilogue, or something so that we could at least learn what happened to the characters.

Overall, this book had a great concept, but there were a lot of things that really turned me off, so I couldn't really enjoy the books. I would say to give this book a shot if you like survival stories and zombies [and your okay with extremely angering characters].






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Struck by Jennifer Bosworth- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genres: Apocalypse, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 8th, 2012

Source: Publisher- thank you to Macmillan!
My Review:

In Struck, we meet Mia Price. She is what you would call a lightening addict. She's been struck by lightening many, many times, and she craves the energy she gets when she gets struck. Mia lives in Los Angeles, and they're in the aftermath of a terrible earthquake, trying to rebuild. Mia has to care for her younger brother, Parker, and her mother, who may or may not have a mental disorder because of the earthquake. But Mia meets two different groups of people, who want her to do different things, things that she doesn't thing she's capable of. In the end, Mia has to make a choice. Who will she side with? What will she sacrifice?

The cover of Struck is really pretty. You can slightly see the scars she has on her arms, if you look carefully. And all the colors create such a nice setting, it's so pretty to watch. Overall, it's really nice!

First off, let's talk about Mia. I loved her. She's so smart, and sassy, and she's a pretty tough girl. I loved her sarcasm. I'm a pretty sarcastic person, so I really appreciated it. Even though she had a tough-girl appearance, she wasn't exactly tough on the inside. I loved how she was a little bit layered; there was more to her than at first sight. She was a really well-done character.

The whole idea of this book was also really unique. I mean, a lightening addict? Yes please! It's so cool! Totally not your whole typical vampire or werewolf thing. There was a lot more to the story though, and there were a lot more elements. Overall, it wasn't too confusing of a world. It made sense, and it was well thought out. Definitely kudos to the author to coming up with such an awesome idea that I've never read about before! That's hard to do in YA now-a-days!

I enjoyed the romance during the first half of the book. It wasn't too rushed, and I liked how Mia was freaked out by Jeremy [who is the main guy in the story] at first too. It wasn't insta-love. However, more towards the end of the book, it seemed way too rushed for me, and it didn't exactly work. They were supposed to have this 'connection' that I didn't get. It wasn't even explained.

At the end of the book, I was left with questions. I'm not going to list any here, because I don't want to spoil anything for you all, but there were some things that weren't ever explained. I think the author could have added just a little more information, and everything would make sense. That being said though, I'm really glad this story is a stand-alone. I'm pretty sure I've never read a Apocalypitc/Urban Fantasy book that hasn't been part of a series, so it was a total relief to learn I don't have to agonize and torture myself waiting for another book. Yay for stand-alones!

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a really good read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a unique story that hasn't been told before!




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Halflings by Heather Burch- Review

Reviewed by Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Halflings by Heather Burch
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy,
Release Date: January 17,2012
Source: ALA Midwinter [Thank you to the publisher!]
My Review:

So, in this book we meet Nikki Youngblood, your typical teenager. Or so she thought.But when I mysterious attack on her happens, three strange creatures called Halflings, are sent to protect her. But who are they protecting her from? Why is she being hunted? What's so special about Nikki?

I really liked the action in this book. The book starts out with a bang, and there's lots of action throughout the book that kept me reading, and a few twists I really didn't see coming. It was a really compelling read for me, and I loved that. I finished the book really quickly, since it was short anyways, and I wanted to see what happened. There were lots of questions and some mystery that also kept me hooked throughout the whole book.

Unfortunately, that's where the good really ends for me. Our main character, Nikkki Youngblood, is a strong, worthy fighter who keeps her ground. Or so we're told. I honetstly didn't see Nikki being strong at all throughout the book. She changes who she is for two guys she doesn't even know well at all. If you're telling me that Nikki is a strong character, then you need to show me that. It's the age old rule of "Show, Don't Tell." Would I describe Nikki as strong? Uh, no, not at all. She's just your average main protagonist trying to decide which guy to choose.

Another thing is the insta-love. And the love triangle. Both of these thing annoy me so, so much, I don't think I can voice my contempt for these things. And, guess what? Yep, there's not only insta-love in this book, but there's also a love triangle! Do you know how frustrating this was? Well, it was frustrating. Very frustrating. I like a well done love triangle [like in Cynthia Hand's UNEARTHLY series] but this certainly wasn't well done. Mace was just plain annoying to me. I tried so hard to like him, but he just seemed like an obsessed stalker [which he essentially was, actually]. And I don't understand why Nikki even liked Mace, either. I certainly didn't see why she liked him. Raven, on the other hand, I liked better. He was your typical bad-boy, though. There was nothing unique about him for me. Hard outside, soft inside, yes, yes, we've seen this before. And I especially didn't like the insta-love. Nikki immediately fell in love with both boys, although I could see how the author tried to make it non-insta-love [is that even a word?], but it didn't work, unfortunately. Nothing really did work.

Another thing I disliked was the writing. It was just mediocre. I could see some attempts at good writing, but it didn't work. Like I said before, I could see how the author tried to make Nikki's feelings for Raven build up, but it didn't work. I honestly don't know what was missing. I feel like the author needs a little more writing experience, or something to help out her writing. The writing definitely has potential, though, but it needs work. It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good.

And lastly, but not least, the ending. A cliffhanger. Seriously? The three things I hate: insta-love, poorly done love triangles, and cliffhangers, all in one book. I didn't even fully comprehend the ending, and then "BAM!" it was over. I feel like I blinked, and it was over. There are some cliffhangers that are fantabulously done [which, I really do hate to admit, because I don't like cliffhangers] and they make you want the next book, but this ending didn't really do that for me. Instead of screaming with rage and throwing the book on the floor, I just scratched my head and said "Huh?". I feel like it was much too rushed and seemed kind of weird.

It truly breaks my heart to write this review. I got the opportunity to meet the author at ALA, and I got my book signed by her too. She was such a sweet person, so definitely go out and meet her if you ever get the chance. I'm only sad I didn't like the book as much as I liked her.

So overall, I liked the action, but there was just way too many things that kept me from enjoying the book. I would give this book a shot if it seems like something you might like, but be wary before you start.





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